Have Yankees started fast-tracking top prospect Deivi Garcia?

TRENTON — The Yankees’ manager at Double-A Trenton paused while speaking. Pat Osborn, for a second, may have let himself imagine having top pitching prospect Deivi Garcia for the rest of the season.

“If not,” Osborn said, “then we’ll send him on up and get him on the fast track.”

The Yankees may have, indeed, start the fast track for the right-handed Garcia, who’ll turn 20 on May 19. That track could end with Garcia in the Bronx as soon as September, pitching coordinator Danny Borrell said during spring training.

“I feel like I can get there,” Garcia said of the majors, via backup catcher Jorge Saez, who doubles as the team’s Spanish translator.

“He’s small in stature. If you saw him out on the streets, you would probably never guess that he was a professional baseball player, much less a professional baseball starting pitcher who’s very highly thought of.,” Osborn said of Garcia, who’s 5-foot-9 and 163 pounds.

“The fastball jumps out of his hand. It’s got the ride (and) carry that you hear a lot of people talk about now, really good spin rate, keeps the ball on that flat plane, keeps the ball in the strike zone. Curveball is a plus pitch. Can really spin the ball. High spin rates. Late, sharp bite.”

How impressive is it that Garcia, 19, is at Double-A, where the average age is about 24 years old?

“I think it goes back to his character, the way he carries himself,” Osborn said. “He’s quiet. He’s confident. He doesn’t get phased. That’s special when you’re talking about a 19-year-old kid. I think back to myself when I was 19 what I was doing, barely keeping my head above water at the University of Florida, trying to survive, and he’s playing against adults. He’s going to do well. He’s going to compete. He’s probably going to dominate a little bit.”